Late last year, Jeremy Clarkson, the presenter of The Grand Tour, announced that there would be no more new episodes of the show, essentially marking its end. Now, in an interview with The Times, he has disclosed the exact reasons behind this decision.
According to Clarkson, The Grand Tour missions are “immensely physical,” which makes them very challenging “when you’re unfit and fat and old, which I am.” “If you’re Bear Grylls, you go to a hotel — there aren’t any hotels in the Sahara desert,” Clarkson added.
While camping out in the Sahara desert is no easy feat, that’s not the only reason for the show to come to an end.
“I’ve driven cars higher than anyone else and further north than anyone else,” Clarkson told The Times, for which he writes a column. “We’ve done everything you can do with a car. When we had meetings about what to do next, people just threw their arms in the air.”
Read: The Grand Tour Is Done, As Clarkson, Hammond, And May Call It Quits
It appears that, in addition to the demanding nature of the work, Clarkson felt that the show was losing its appeal. He mentioned that the concept of automotive television held less interest for him as well.
“James May thinks there’s never been a more interesting time for how we move around, and he’s probably right, but I don’t think it’s very interesting television,” Clarkson said. “An electric car is no different from a chest freezer or a microwave oven. There’s no glamour or excitement. This week on Top Chest Freezer! I think it suits the written media more.”
Besides, there are numerous other opportunities for television viewers to watch him. He currently hosts the U.K.’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, and the fourth season of his Amazon show, Clarkson’s Farm, is about to begin filming.
On top of filming the show, he also has to run the farm and a brewery, and he writes three columns a week. Clarkson says that he has plenty on his plate, even without The Grand Tour.